December 2011 Archives

A former SC Johnson & Son employee said he was fired by the company after reporting tax fraud allegations to federal officials in 2008. Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, it is a felony offense to take any retaliatory action against a whistle-blower on corporate fraud.

Wisconsin's unemployment rate is lower than the national rate, but jobs are still hard to come by. It is all too common in a market like this for workers to do whatever they have to to hold onto that job, even without health care or disability benefits. In some cases, there's an unspoken promise of full-time employment: Prove yourself a valuable addition to the team, and you'll be at the top of the list when a full-time position opens up.

We are wrapping up our discussion of a whistle-blower case involving a police officer. While not a Wisconsin case, the situation poses a couple of interesting issues for the court related to external organizations investigating alleged wrongdoing in law enforcement agencies.

We are continuing our discussion of a case that will be of special interest to Milwaukee's animal lovers. The animals in question here were police dogs. When a sheriff's deputy agreed to speak with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals about a coworker's abuse of the dogs, he did so with the understanding that his identity would not be revealed. He feared retaliation.

Not every whistle-blower case involves corporate malfeasance on an epic scale. Not every whistle-blower case garners the attention of '60 Minutes' or earns a headline in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Most of the time, the case involves a regular employee who reports wrongful or illegal conduct on the part of his employer only to lose his job for his trouble.

On behalf of Alan C. Olson & Associates posted in Wage and Hour Laws on Sunday, December 4, 2011.

We know of many people who are enrolled in their employer-sponsored 401(k) type plan but who are completely at sea when it comes to allocating their retirement savings. They are grateful for the benefit, but they often end up basing their investment decision on well-intentioned but arbitrary criteria. The fund is based here in Milwaukee? Check. My brother-in-law mentioned this fund over dinner one night? Check.

The U.S. House of Representatives has hammered another nail in the coffin of the CLASS Act. A House subcommittee recently voted to repeal the law that the Obama administration had hoped would provide financial relief for seniors and people with long-term disabilities. The committee member from Wisconsin voted against repeal.

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